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(No Model.) J. D. GRIFFEN.

FASTENING FOR SHOES.

No. 440,806. Patented Nov. 18, 1890 [.NVEJVTOGE WITNESSES UNITED STATESJOHN D. GRIFFEN, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

FASTENING FOR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,806, dated November18, 1890.

Application filed April 15, 1890. Serial No. 347,932. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN D. GRIFFEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fast-enings forShoes, &c.; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide anovel fastening adapted forgeneral use-as, for instance, in fastening shoes, corsets, gloves,&c.but which I have shown in connection with a shoe only, a singleillustration being deemed sufficient for the purposes of thisspecification.

The essential features of my invention are that but a single string isused in connection with closed eyes; that the string is never removedfrom any of the eyes after having been once placed in position; that thelacing is effected by a single straight pull; that after being drawn upthe string lies straight or approximately straight and the eyes in lineor nearly in line with each other, and that in unlacing it is simplynecessary to release the free end of the string and open the flaps ofthe shoe. These results I accomplish in the manner which I will nowdescribe, and then specifically point out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a perspective of a shoe having my novel .fastening applied, thestring, for the sake of clearness of illustration, being shown aspartially drawn up, the free end being released; and Fig. 2 is afrontand edge view of one of the closed fastening-eyes detached.

1 denotes the flaps of a shoe, and 2 the string, it being understood, ofcourse, that the general construction and arrangement would be the samein applying my invention to a glove or corset. In the application of myinvention to a shoe whichI have selected as a means of illustrating myinvention, the lower end of the string is fixed in any suit able manner,either upon the inside or the outside at the intersection of the twoflaps-=- that is, where they join the vamp.

In the drawings I have shown my invention as applied to a heavy shoe,and have shown the string as attached by means of a plate 3, secured inany suitable manner at the center of the upper edge of the vamp, theplate being upturned at its upper edge and provided with a hole throughwhich the string is passed, a knot or other suitable enlargement 4 beingformed at the lower end of the string to prevent its being drawn throughthe plate. Any other suitable means of fixing the lower end of thestring in place may be adopted if preferred.

5 denotes the eyes, which are placed at suitable distances apart on theopposite flaps, being preferably so placed relatively to each other, asshown in the drawings, that they will just lap past each other in pairswhen the string is drawn upthat is, each eye upon one flap will justpass over an eye upon the other flap, there being more or less space,according to the taste of the manufacturer or the requirements. of thetrade, between each pair of eyes. The eyes may of course be formed inany suitable manner. I preferably form them from a strip of metal whichis curved near the center to form the closed eye and doubled uponitself, one end of the strip being carried past the other end, as shownat the left in Fig. 2, and both ends being,pro

vided with prongs 6, as indicated at the right in Fig. 2, which areadapted to be forced through the leather of the flaps and clinched uponthe under side to hold the eyes in place.

As already stated, the shoe is permanently laced up once for all, andthe string merely requires to be tightened or loosened in putting on orremoving. hen the string is placed in the shoe, after securing the lowerend, the free end is passed through the several eyes in sequence, asshown in the drawings, and a knot 4% or other suitable enlargementformed at the end thereof. As shown in the drawings, the eyes arerounded outward at their outer edges, so that the string will slipthrough freely and avoid friction or wear upon the string.

It will be seen that when the wearer wishes to tighten. up the shoe itis simply necessary to give a straight pull upon the upper end of thestring. This draws the several pairs of eyes more orless closelytogether, as may be desired, and as indicated in the drawings. The upperend of the string is fastened in any suitable manner, a Way which I havefound perfectly satisfactory in use being to pass the upper end of thestring across from the upper eye and around the ankle, engaging the knotat the free end of the string with a suitable hook 7. The position ofthis knot may of course be changed at will, or a number of knots may bemade at the upper end of the string, so that the shoe may be tightenedor loosened whenever required in use. When the wearer desires to removethe shoe, it is simply necessary to release the free end of the cord andopen the flaps outward. The string, however, is not withdrawn from anyof the eyes, the operation being clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, I claim A shoe provided centrally atthe upper edge of the vamp with a fixed plate having an upturned edgewith a hole through it, said shoe having also eyes attached to the edgesof the flaps and adapted to lap past each other in pairs, and a stringsecured at one end to said plate and passed through the said eyes, saidstring having a knot at its free end and a hook 7 on one of said flapsto engage the free end of the said string after the flaps have beendrawn together.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. GRIFFEN.

Witnesses:

H. E. CLARK, E. H. MoFFATT.

